Have you heard of sea buckthorn berries? In the U.S., they aren’t naturally found in the wild – you get these berries from China, Mongolia, Russia, and Northern Europe. They grow on shrubs and have a yellow or red-orange shade. And these small round berries are teeming with health benefits, making its oil worth noting.
You can find buckthorn berries in the form of tea, a pigment, or dried.1 But as with most natural remedies, its oil is super convenient. Read on to know just why exactly you need to start using buckthorn berry oil every day.
1. Enhances Eye Health
These yellow-orange buckthorn berries and their oil are packed with carotenoid pigments.2 Their antioxidant compounds are known for protecting your peepers! In the eyes, they absorb blue light that would typically cause damage.3
Consider using sea buckthorn oil if you’re always staring at a screen. Electronics emit blue light, so it wouldn’t hurt to take extra precaution for your eyes.
2. Improves Immune System
Buckthorn berry oil contains alpha-tocopherol, a form of vitamin E.4 This vitamin is needed for proper immune function and gene expression. Even cells can’t communicate without it, so getting enough is vital.
The carotenoids also reduce disease risk, especially when it comes to certain cancers.5 Together, these perks of sea buckthorn oil will help your immunity thrive.
3. Promotes Heart Health
The vitamin E in buckthorn oil aids heart health, too. It suppresses arachidonic acid metabolism, a process that tightens up blood vessels. When stopped, blood vessels dilate and prevent platelets from piling up. The outcome? Better blood pressure and flow.6 This means sea buckthorn oil can help prevent heart disease, one of the top causes of death in the US.7
4. Provides Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Fats might have a bad reputation, but the ones in sea buckthorn oil are on your side. This remedy is made of almost 40% alpha-linolenic acid, a type of omega-3 fat.8 This acid protects your bones, reduces cholesterol, lowers blood pressure, and relieves asthma.9 By using sea buckthorn oil, you can get your fill of this fat.
5. Moisturizes Skin
If you’re struggling with dry skin, look no further. Sea buckthorn oil’s high vitamin E content will save the day.10 Often, vitamin E oil is added to products for extra moisture, but with sea buckthorn oil, it’s already included. The consistency of the oil is also lightweight, so it’ll feel divine on the skin.11
6. Treats Skin Irritation
The moisturizing effects of sea buckthorn oil can fight dermatitis. In a 2017 animal study, researchers applied the oil to dermatitis-like skin lesions. And it worked! By suppressing cellular pathways that cause inflammation, sea buckthorn oil can soothe skin woes.12
7. Combats Acne
Are you fighting a breakout? Reach for sea buckthorn berry oil instead of harsh creams. The anti-bacterial properties will relieve acne, once and for all.13 Remember, pimples are tiny bacterial infections. You can blame Propionibacterium acnes, the main strain that causes acne.14 With sea buckthorn oil, bacteria will chill out.
8. Controls Oily Skin
Breakouts might also be caused by excess sebum. The mix of oil, bacteria, and dirt clogs up pores! But even if you don’t have pimples, oily skin can be embarrassing. Use sea buckthorn oil to control it. This might seem counterintuitive, but keep in mind that like dissolves like. Cleansing with this remedy decreases sebum secretion, according to a 2010 study.15
9. Prevents UV Damage
Sunscreen is a skincare essential, but most commercial versions are full of chemicals. Go all-natural with sea buckthorn oil, a remedy that has UV protection. Its vitamin E absorbs UV radiation, making it worthy of your skincare lineup.16
A 2012 animal study also found that buckthorn oil works from the inside as well. Oral intake prevents sun-induced skin damage, aging, and wrinkles.17 Already got a sunburn? Slather the oil on for instant relief.18
Sea buckthorn berry oil can be found as liquid or capsules. If you’re taking prescription drugs, check with your doctor before using buckthorn oil. It might interact with the medication and cause health problems.
References
| ↑1 | Li, Thomas SC. “Product development of sea buckthorn.” Trends in new crops and new uses. ASHS Press, Alexandria (2002): 393-398. |
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| ↑2 | Czaplicki, Sylwester, Dorota Ogrodowska, Ryszard Zadernowski, and Iwona Konopka. “Effect of Sea-Buckthorn (Hippophaë rhamnoides L.) Pulp Oil Consumption on Fatty Acids and Vitamin A and E Accumulation in Adipose Tissue and Liver of Rats.” Plant Foods for Human Nutrition 72, no. 2 (2017): 198-204. |
| ↑3, ↑5 | Johnson, Elizabeth J. “The role of carotenoids in human health.” Nutrition in Clinical Care 5, no. 2 (2002): 56-65. |
| ↑4 | Czaplicki, Sylwester, Dorota Ogrodowska, Ryszard Zadernowski, and Iwona Konopka. “Effect of Sea-Buckthorn (Hippophaë rhamnoides L.) Pulp Oil Consumption on Fatty Acids and Vitamin A and E Accumulation in Adipose Tissue and Liver of Rats.” Plant Foods for Human Nutrition 72, no. 2 (2017): 198-204. |
| ↑6 | Vitamin E. National Institutes of Health. |
| ↑7 | Heart Disease Facts. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. |
| ↑8 | Fatima, Tahira, Crystal L. Snyder, William R. Schroeder, Dustin Cram, Raju Datla, David Wishart, Randall J. Weselake, and Priti Krishna. “Fatty acid composition of developing sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.) berry and the transcriptome of the mature seed.” PLoS One 7, no. 4 (2012): e34099. |
| ↑9 | Alpha-linolenic acid. University of Maryland Medical Center. |
| ↑10 | Czaplicki, Sylwester, Dorota Ogrodowska, Ryszard Zadernowski, and Iwona Konopka. “Effect of Sea-Buckthorn (Hippophaë rhamnoides L.) Pulp Oil Consumption on Fatty Acids and Vitamin A and E Accumulation in Adipose Tissue and Liver of Rats.” Plant Foods for Human Nutrition 72, no. 2 (2017): 198-204. |
| ↑11 | Beveridge, Tom, Thomas SC Li, B. Dave Oomah, and Allen Smith. “Sea buckthorn products: manufacture and composition.” Journal of agricultural and food chemistry 47, no. 9 (1999): 3480-3488. |
| ↑12 | Hou, Dian-Dong, Zheng-Hong Di, Rui-Qun Qi, He-Xiao Wang, Song Zheng, Yu-Xiao Hong, Hao Guo, Hong-Duo Chen, and Xing-Hua Gao. “Sea Buckthorn (Hippophaë rhamnoides L.) Oil Improves Atopic Dermatitis-Like Skin Lesions via Inhibition of NF-κB and STAT1 Activation.” Skin Pharmacology and Physiology 30, no. 5 (2017): 268-276. |
| ↑13 | Yue, Xuan-Feng, Xiao Shang, Zhi-Juan Zhang, and Yan-Ni Zhang. “Phytochemical composition and antibacterial activity of the essential oils from different parts of sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.).” journal of food and drug analysis 25, no. 2 (2017): 327-332. |
| ↑14 | Bhatia, Ajay, Jean-Francoise Maisonneuve, and David H. Persing. “Propionibacterium acnes and chronic diseases.” In The Infectious Etiology of Chronic Diseases: Defining the Relationship, Enhancing the Research, and Mitigating the Effects: Workshop Summary., Knobler, SL et al.(eds.), pp. 74-80. 2004. |
| ↑15 | Akhtar, Naveed, Barkat A. Khan, Tariq Mahmood, Rashida Parveen, Mughal Qayum, and Masood Anwar. “Formulation and evaluation of antisebum secretion effects of sea buckthorn w/o emulsion.” Journal of Pharmacy And Bioallied Sciences 2, no. 1 (2010): 13. |
| ↑16 | Vitamin E. Oregon State University. |
| ↑17 | Hwang, In Sik, Ji Eun Kim, Sun Il Choi, Hye Ryun Lee, Young Ju Lee, Min Ju Jang, Hong Ju Son et al. “UV radiation-induced skin aging in hairless mice is effectively prevented by oral intake of sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.) fruit blend for 6 weeks through MMP suppression and increase of SOD activity.” International journal of molecular medicine 30, no. 2 (2012): 392-400. |
| ↑18 | Introduction to Sea Buckthorn. Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. |